Snippet #1327957

"Miss! Is the doctor in? This patient was cut during a bar fight. The other clinics closer to the scene are full!"

Cut was a vast understatement. The man had several lacerations to his arm, chest, and a mass of bruises discoloring his face and gut. He was carried in on a makeshift stretcher of two pallets propped by two long poles. The apprentice doctor stared at it blankly, getting up and hurrying down the hall. Opening the door, she found the dark room empty. The screeches of a rat she heard earlier was the only evidence that he had been in there. Looking at one of the operating tables, she found a note upon it's sterilized surface. Her face turned red as she read the simple message: "Use what you know. This is a test."

She cursed under her breath, running back and explaining that the doctor wasn't in but she could treat him. They didn't really have much of a choice, and grudgingly carted the limp man down into the room. The apprentice walked in, grabbing a similar (though smaller) plague mask and donned it. Retrieving some materials from a nearby cupboard, she ushered the other two out.

She uneasily withdrew a large soaking pad, and dampened it with a strange light-amber liquid.

---

District Delta

The Train departed it's station, starting at a lazy pace and soon disappearing into the distance. The air was noticeably thicker than that of Beta, which is understandable since Delta was little more than a hellhole for refuge and wastes. He didn't care much for the mages that resided here, since many of them claimed to be better than a normal physician.

"If I had to guess the contaminants I'd have to base it off some sort of opposite to Bete. Hmm. Perhaps there is something that cleans the air? Despite our flight through the sky, this environment remains as oppressive as ever. Mayhaps the air is heavier and sits on the streets? Can air do that?"

As he pondered what can be described as chemistry, he walked the downtrodden streets of Delta. It was terrible, but the masked doctor had been here so many times to hunt for rat specimens and sometimes assignments by Amon that he didn't really care. In fact, the streets have become familiar where he usually frequents. In this case, it is marked by a large warehouse where a certain clinic is run by a magi healer. As one of the few distinguishing features, he chose this area of Delta simply because he wanted to observe the patients and magic while here. Personally, he enjoyed watching the mage strain herself over healing multiple cuts and bruises. It would be so much easier with a simple bandage wrapping and poultice to keep infection away. However, as time went on he began to feel sorry for the woman that so selflessly wasted her strength giving to those who cannot give back. For some unfathomable reason, she was never bitter about this.

As he wandered, he decided to pay the clinic a visit. The rats wouldn't be out this early.

"Damn. I chose the wrong time to go hunting." He muttered, "Rats- nocturnal. I keep forgetting. I should make some sort of hole in the operating room to check the time of day. Didn't even notice it was light out. What was I thinking? I don't know. Maybe the rat's have grown- oh that would be nice. A good fighter would definitely help me in research. Yes. The last one was real feisty. Almost bit me when I tied it down. Oh, but they become so docile after a few rounds. Don't they know the meaning of persistence? It only hinders me."

Etzel realized that he had already stopped in front of the Clinic. He opened the door lazily, just to see Pandora, the owner healing a ragged man looked beat up. Upon closer inspection, he realized that others had moved away from him. Perhaps he was a drunkard. Or a vagabond. He realized those that had seen him enter shrunk away. His presence was admittedly intimidating, especially when they could see no physical feature on his body. The tinted lens stared right back at them.

"Well, Pandora Elling. Looks like you're going to drop and the day hasn't even started yet." He commented dryly.